Regarding the letter by Arthur Richards Jr. (“Kelly has lost touch,” Oct. 13). The writer takes Congressman Mike Kelly to task for not supporting Obamacare, food stamps or the welfare state in general. He claims Kelly has turned his back on the poor and the middle class. Nothing could be further from the truth. Kelly understands the secret to raising people out of poverty is the creation of good, long-term jobs. Jobs created the now-shrinking middle class in our nation. Jobs give people the opportunity to raise themselves and their families out of poverty. You do not create jobs by punishing the job creators with burdensome taxes and overwhelming regulation. You do not raise people out of poverty by constantly expanding and encouraging the welfare state. I respect the writer’s point of view and his freedom to express it. I can understand his negativity toward Kelly and the tea party. But if believe in a large, all-powerful federal government and that success should be stifled and punished, then Congressman Kelly is not your man. If you believe hard work can earn you the American dream and that the freedoms bestowed upon us by God and promised by our Constitution, then Kelly is your representative who gives you a voice in Washington.